In 406 BCE, Eteonicus was a trusted officer serving under the Spartan nauarch (or admiral), Callicratidas. Together, they campaigned against Athenian positions in the...
Around the year 587, three dukes formulated a dangerous conspiracy against King Childebert II of Austrasia (r. 575-595). Two of the conspirators were Berthefried...
Procopius, a 6th-century lawyer, historian, and secretary to the prominent general, Belisarius, claimed that Emperor Justinian of Constantinople (r. 527-565) had in his employ...
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, who published the Malleus Maleficarum around 1487, believed that witches could weaponize weather, especially tempests and hailstorms. Naturally, if...
This image, created by the Norwegian artist Wilhelm Wetlesen (c. 1871-1925), was produced for an 1899 reprint of the Heimskringla—a medieval collection of sagas composed...
Chief Joseph
(Nez Percé/Nimiipuu leader, c. 1840-1904)
"I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more."
Chief Joseph’s Own Story,...
This painting, by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (often shortened to just Camille Corot, c. 1796-1875), was inspired by the Biblical story of Sodom...
This drawing, by the French artist Sébastien Leclerc (c. 1637-1714), was inspired by accounts of Alexander the Great’s entrance into Babylon. The Macedonian conqueror...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
Around the year 587, three dukes formulated a dangerous conspiracy against King Childebert II of Austrasia (r. 575-595). Two of the conspirators were Berthefried...
This image, created by the Norwegian artist Wilhelm Wetlesen (c. 1871-1925), was produced for an 1899 reprint of the Heimskringla—a medieval collection of sagas composed...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
Ancient Egyptians long had an intense love and protective disposition toward their cats. It was a distinct cultural feature that intrigued visitors from other...
Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE)
"A gentleman is proud, but not quarrelsome, allies himself with individuals, but not with parties."
The Analects of Confucius (Book XV, section...
Any person who enjoys learning about the history and religion of ancient and medieval Northern European countries is heavily indebted to a curious Icelandic...
Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE) was an Athenian general and historian who lived through the Peloponnesian War (c. 431-404 BCE) between Athens and Sparta. He...
This drawing, by the French artist Sébastien Leclerc (c. 1637-1714), was inspired by accounts of Alexander the Great’s entrance into Babylon. The Macedonian conqueror...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
This painting, by French artist Jacques-Louis David (c. 1748–1825), depicts the death scene of the famous Greek inquirer, Socrates. In 399 BCE, the seventy-year-old...
Bellona was an ancient Roman war-goddess, often likened to the similar Greek war-goddess, Enyo. As a goddess of war, Bellona was always associated with...
Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)
"Many insist that heaven is unconcerned with our births and deaths—is unconcerned, in fact, with human beings—so that the good often suffer,...
This illustration, by the French artist Claude Lorrain (c. 1600-1682), depicts the meeting of several legendary and mythological figures. On the left side of...
Jonathan Swift (c. 1667-1745)
"I dare engage, these creatures have their titles and distinctions of honour; they contrive little nests and burrows, that they call...
This painting was created by the American artist, Tompkins Harrison Matteson (c. 1813–1884), and is housed within the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts....
Margery Kempe (c. 1373-1439+)
"It is a pity that money should succeed before truth."
The Book of Margery Kempe (Book 1, chapter 25), dictated by Margery...
This illustration, created by the German artist Joseph Martin Kronheim (c. 1810–1896), depicts the final moments of King Edward the Martyr of England, who...
In 406 BCE, Eteonicus was a trusted officer serving under the Spartan nauarch (or admiral), Callicratidas. Together, they campaigned against Athenian positions in the...
This painting, by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (often shortened to just Camille Corot, c. 1796-1875), was inspired by the Biblical story of Sodom...
Bellona was an ancient Roman war-goddess, often likened to the similar Greek war-goddess, Enyo. As a goddess of war, Bellona was always associated with...
This drawing, by the French artist Sébastien Leclerc (c. 1637-1714), was inspired by accounts of Alexander the Great’s entrance into Babylon. The Macedonian conqueror...
Around the year 587, three dukes formulated a dangerous conspiracy against King Childebert II of Austrasia (r. 575-595). Two of the conspirators were Berthefried...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
The Bhagavad Gita (c. 2nd century BCE-2nd century CE)
"One who would hear
without sneering,
full of trust,
would be freed,
and would reach
those happy worlds
where actions are pure."
...
Ancient Egyptians long had an intense love and protective disposition toward their cats. It was a distinct cultural feature that intrigued visitors from other...
Virgil (c. 70-19 BCE)
"Since Fortune's got the upper hand,
let's follow her where she calls and change course."
From The Aeneid (Book V) by Virgil, translated...
